Induction of Circularly Polarized Luminescence from Europium by Amino Acid Based Ionic Liquids

Materials that emit circularly polarized light have application in several important industries. Because they show large optical activity and emit sharp visible light transitions, europium complexes are often exploited in applications that require circularly polarized luminescence (CPL). Chiral and coordinating ionic liquids based on prolinate, valinate, and aspartate anions are used to induce CPL from a simple achiral europium triflate salt. The sign of the induced CPL is dependent on the handedness (l vs d) of the amino acid anion. Comparison of the CPL spectra in ionic liquid with proline and valine vs aspartate shows that the number of carboxylate groups in the amino acid anion influences the europium coordination environment. DFT calculations predict a chiral eight-coordinate Eu(Pro)₄^- structure in the prolinate ionic liquid and a chiral seven- or eight-coordinate Eu(Asp)₃^3- structure in the aspartate ionic liquid.